■ Whakatāne District Grey Power Association is holding a candidates' meeting at the Liberty Centre in Whakatāne next week.

On October 21, starting at 10am, the attending candidates will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and answer pre-prepared questions and questions from the floor.

Grey Power president Victor Luca hopes the event will give people the chance to get to know four of the candidates seeking to represent the East Cape in Parliament.

Sitting MP Dana Kirkpatrick is unable to attend because of other commitments, but Jo Luxton (Labour), Jordan Walker (Green Party), Cail Smith (TOP) and Darrin Hawkes (ACT) will be there.

“Part of being a democracy is having the right to vote periodically for a government that represents us,” Luca said.

“Every three years, we the citizens get a chance to pick our leaders.

“An effective democracy that serves all citizens requires an engaged and educated polity.

“You can’t make a good choice if you don’t have a feeling for the character, ethics, morals, skills and policies of the representatives you choose.”

Jo Luxton – Labour

Raised between Whakatāne and Gisborne, I learned resilience and responsibility early. I helped raise my younger siblings, including my sister, Teresa, who has Down syndrome. When our mother became unwell, I became Teresa’s legal guardian and nursed our mother through her terminal illness.

After leaving school with only School Certificate, I worked in a range of roles. As I raised my two children, I faced my share of challenges and, at one point, found myself sitting in a WINZ office as a solo mother of two unsure how I would provide for my children.

Determined to rebuild, I retrained as an early childhood education teacher before establishing and owning my own early childhood centre. It was the first of its kind in New Zealand to become an accredited living wage employer.

Over the past nine years in Parliament, I have built a reputation as a practical, hardworking, and grounded advocate for regional New Zealand, serving as Minister of Customs, Associate Minister of Education and Associate Minister of Agriculture. I am now Labour’s spokesperson for Agriculture, Biosecurity and Customs.

Back home in Gisborne and in the East Cape Electorate, I am committed to helping build a region where whānau can thrive, businesses can grow, young people can build futures close to home, and communities feel supported, connected, and optimistic about what lies ahead.

Jordan Walker – Green Party

I am the Green Party candidate for East Cape, intentionally standing for the Green Party vote to bring direct resourcing, climate resilience, and equitable outcomes to the communities of the East Cape.

Raised in Tūranganui-a-kiwa, I whakapapa to Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāti Porou and Ngāi Te Rangi, and bring a values-driven, Te Tiriti-led approach shaped by more than a decade working alongside local artists and communities.

As founder and creative producer of Maraki Productions, a kaupapa Māori creative agency, I have built a career centring access, wellbeing, and community-led storytelling, work that has taken on new urgency as the East Cape faces mounting climate pressure, from flooding to slips to repeated states of emergency.

I argue the region’s resilience currently rests on the unpaid, under-resourced goodwill of its people, and that meaningful government investment and devolution to local government (not further cuts) is what communities need to thrive.

I was the Green Party candidate for East Coast in 2023 and was endorsed in the 2025 Gisborne District Council elections.

My values align strongly with the Green Party and the policies focused on climate mitigation and fixing our broken tax system to support the cost of living, funding inequity for regions, affordable housing, and equitable healthcare and education for rural and Māori communities.

Cail Smith – The Opportunities Party

Living and working in Gisborne, I lead people and services within the region, giving me firsthand insight into the pressures local families face and the operational challenges that come with living in an isolated, weather-affected part of the country.

Through hard work, I have built a reputation as a practical problem solver – someone who understands systems, the people within them, and how to make them work better.

With strong ties across the community through volunteering, sport, and family, I have a grounded view of how stretched local infrastructure, housing, and support services have become, and how much potential the region has when communities are backed with the right planning and investment.

I am standing to bring practical leadership, community insight, and long term thinking to the East Cape – with a commitment to championing solutions that strengthen the region and create real opportunities for the people who call it home.

Darrin Hawkes – ACT

I am a professional engineer, business owner, husband, father, and long-time Whakatāne resident who believes New Zealand’s best days are still ahead of us.

Born in Darfield and raised in Nelson, I began my career with an apprenticeship as a boilermaker-welder, then worked as a tradesman for 10 years before funding myself as an adult student at the University of Canterbury.

Through dedication and perseverance, I earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with first class honours.

Following redundancy from the manufacturing sector, my wife and I established an engineering consultancy that has grown over two decades into a successful business employing people across New Zealand and Australia.

That journey taught me the value of hard work, personal responsibility, sound decision making, and creating opportunities for others.

I entered politics because I believe New Zealand needs practical leadership focused on outcomes rather than division, ideology, or political theatre.

I am passionate about strengthening our provincial economies, growing manufacturing, improving energy security, and creating an environment where businesses can invest, employ, and prosper.

I support a New Zealand where everyone is equal under the law, where government assistance is based on need rather than ethnicity, and where individuals are free to make their own choices while accepting responsibility for those choices.

I believe government serves people best when it focuses on essential services, spends taxpayers’ money carefully, reduces unnecessary bureaucracy, and empowers rather than restricts New Zealanders.

Outside politics, I enjoy family life, engineering, hunting, fishing, motorcycling, and adventure travel. Whether in business, community life, or politics, I believe in integrity and accountability.